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Spain is an essential foodie pilgrimage, and no city holds a candle to Madrid when it comes to variety of national and international cuisines. Its cutting-edge restaurants helmed by celebrated chefs make the city one of Europe's most renowned dining capitals.When it comes to dining, younger madrileños gravitate toward trendy nei
Spain is an essential foodie pilgrimage, and no city holds a candle to Madrid when it comes to variety of national and international cuisines. Its cutting-edge restaurants helmed by celebrated chefs make the city one of Europe's most renowned dining capitals.When it com
Spain is an essential foodie pilgrimage, and no city holds a candle to Madrid when it comes to variety of national and i
Spain is an essential foodie pilgrimage, and no city holds a candle to Madrid when it comes to variety of national and international cuisines. Its cutting-edge restaurants helmed by celebrated chefs make the city one of Europe's most renowned dining capitals.
When it comes to dining, younger madrileños gravitate toward trendy neighborhoods like bearded-and-bunned Malasaña, gay-friendly Chueca, rootsy La Latina, and multicultural Lavapiés for their boisterous and affordable restaurants and bars. Dressier travelers, and those visiting with kids, will feel more at home in the quieter, more buttoned-up restaurants of Salamanca, Chamartín, and Retiro. Of course, these are broad-brush generalizations, and there are plenty of exceptions.
The house wine in old-timey Madrid restaurants is often a sturdy, uncomplicated Valdepeñas from La Mancha. A plummy Rioja or a gutsy Ribera del Duero—the latter from northern Castile—are the usual choices for reds by the glass in chicer establishments, while popular whites include fruity Verdejo varietals from Rueda and slatey albariños from Galicia After dinner, try the anise-flavored liqueur (anís), produced outside the nearby village of Chinchón, or a fruitier patxaran, a digestif made with sloe berries.
Expertly pulled espressos, natural wines, and unexpectedly outstanding food—think velvety scrambled eggs, flavorful quiches, and homemade cakes and pastries—have made this café on Plaza del Biombo an instant hit with locals and expats, many of whom treat the roomy communal table like a coworking space (just be considerate and order more than a coffee if you plan on staying awhile).
Calle de Calderón de la Barca 8, Madrid, 28013, Spain
This cheery yellow-tiled café serving Middle Eastern-inflected sandwiches and pastries is packed from breakfast to lunch, when neighborhood-dwellers show up for falafel, shakshuka, and spinach pie. At 8:30 pm, Golda morphs into "Golfa," its boozier late-night alter ego serving tapas and natural wine.
From the owners of Hola Coffee, Madrid's preeminent third-wave coffee shop, comes this über-trendy roomier outpost two blocks from Gran Vía. Beyond the single-origin espressos and other classics made from roasted-in-house beans, there are warming chai lattes, shrubs, and (seasonal) cold brew. Misión quietly makes some of the best pastries in town—try the house-made croissants or zippy lemon–poppy seed cake—in the abutting Misión Bakehouse. There are plenty of plant-based options on the breakfast and lunch menu as well. Tables are for coffee-sipping and dining only, so if you brought your laptop, sit at the high-top communal table or on the wooden "bleachers."
Venezuelan comfort foods draw crowds to this bar-restaurant with cheery waitstaff and a soundtrack of Latin jazz. Start with a variety platter of appetizers including tequeños (gooey cheese sticks), cachapas (cheese-stuffed corn cakes), and tostones (green plantain fritters); then dive into a caveman-worthy portion of pabellón criollo (spiced shredded beef, black beans, and rice), the house specialty.
When this centenary café—one of the oldest in Madrid—shuttered in 2015, ostensibly for good, the public outcry was so great that it inspired a local restaurant group to buy the property and give it a much-needed revamp. In a dining room that combines original elements (huge mirrors, carved wooden columns) with new high-design fixtures, feast on a menu that's a dance between Café Comercial classics, including ham croquetas and tuna-topped ensaladilla rusa (potato salad), and novel creations by chef Pepe Roch.
The grandmotherly upholstery, fringed lampshades, plush wingback chairs, and wooden bookshelves make Café de la Luz a cozy spot to curl up with a book, catch up with friends, or get some work done. Coffees will run you about €2 apiece, and if you're peckish, there's a good variety of sweets and open-faced sandwiches to sate your appetite. Come evening (closing time is 2 am most nights), the lights get dimmed and coffees turn into cocktails.
The tapas are offal-y good at this pocket-size bar specializing in variety meats like pig ear (served crackly with spicy brava sauce) and zarajos (lamb intestines wrapped around a stick and fried until crisp, an old-school Madrid snack).
Spaniards love their morning cafés con leche and afternoon cortados (espresso with steamed milk), but until a few years ago, it was hard to find a truly great cup of joe in Madrid. Enter Hola Coffee, whose multilayered third-wave espressos and cold brews are made with beans the company roasts itself. From-scratch baked goods and open-faced sandwiches will make you want to stay awhile; printed "Cool Beans" T-shirts make zany souvenirs.
Calle del Doctor Fourquet 33, Madrid, 28012, Spain
This coffee shop with exposed-brick walls is an adorable breakfast nook worth seeking out for its single-origin brews and well-priced plant-based brunches.
Calle del Mesón de Paredes 28, Madrid, 28012, Spain
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